Respawn at last checkpoint
by Tastefully Nefarious
Summary: Hadn't she always wished for an adventure? Excitement? Magic? Well, there it was! The perfect apocalyptic setting, the first chapter of her very own epic quest. Follow Victoria, an average yet nerdy young woman with a passion for comic books and video games, as she faces the reality of the dead coming back to chew on the living. Daryl x OC! M !
1. Chapter 1

So this is kind of a prologue.

 _Hope you enjoy!_

 **Sole disclaimer** : I don't [ and will not ever ] own anything from TWD. If I did, Daryl would have more screen time and Carol would be long dead.

* * *

Her hands were shaking on the wheel of the car. Her ears were ringing; she didn't understand what people were talking about outside, even with the window rolled down. Vaguely aware there was a baby crying somewhere, she tried to make sense of what was going on, but failed. She took a long breath in an attempt to make the flow of tears stop. The past few years of her life flashed in front of her eyes. Where had she gone wrong? When did the proverbial shit hit the freaking fan?

Up until a few days ago, Victoria had more than she ever wished for. She had her own apartment in Tokyo, in the country she always dreamt of visiting. She drove her personal car, and was the proud owner of a giant cat - a Maine Coon named Sheeba. Her job as a translator at the embassy paid more than well and came with many perks. Traveling discounts were the first on the top of her list.

Still, she had always had the feeling she didn't quite belong.

The pencil skits and immaculate white shirts didn't really suit her; she preferred jeans and plain t-shirts. Victoria was somewhat of a nerd, having spent probably half her life in online games, novels and TV shows. Fan of everything fantasy and sci-fi, the reality of adult life had crushed some of the magic she always thought life should hold. That's why when she arrived in Japan three years prior, the second thing she did after settling in her apartment was to join a kyudo class - traditional Japanese archery. The heroine in the manga was usually a skilled archer, so she thought it would spice up her boring life. It didn't she still craved for something she couldn't really name. But the archery classes were fun.

Her mother always criticized her about her poor life choices. God knew how many times she heard the words 'grow up'. Her closest friends were constantly an example she should have followed: all married, with children or at least engaged. Maybe she should have listened to her mother? But she had other priorities and none included screeching babies. She didn't particularly hate children, but she didn't like them either. That's why, when her best friend extended an invitation to spend her vacation in America with her husband and two kids, Victoria was a little skeptic. After all, she was basically going there to be the babysitter, even if her friend didn't use those exact words.

Usually, when things go to hell, there is an action you could pinpoint, a moment you'd return to and ask 'What if'. The second she decided to book a flight was that moment that would forever haunt her, it was the reason she was in a particular kind of shit. What if she had stayed in Tokyo? What if she had decided to go home to her parents? What if she had gone somewhere else entirely, like that island in Japan filled with cats. The whole apocalypse would have been easier on that island for sure; there were probably less than 100 people there – less than 100 potential death 'opportunities'.

But there were no 'what ifs' in real life, you didn't get extra lives or 'load the last checkpoint' option. Real life had that tendency to suck balls big time.

Things had gone south really fast after she arrived. She was exasperated for only four days by Mia and Ben's children: Emma, their ten year old daughter and Thomas, the somewhat adorable two year old. Both kids took after their father, with curly blond hair and sky blue eyes. Unlucky for everyone around them, they probably inherited their mother's personality; Mia was a fire cracker. Four days until the news started presenting crazy stories about the dead coming back to life and eating the living. A small part of Victoria had been ecstatic – this was her adventure, an epic tale where the main character was a badass archer zombie-killing girl. A happy ever after where the heroine saved the day and kissed the guy at the end. It could have even gone the other way around; she didn't mind being the damsel in distress either. But she was not ready for the hard reality of what happened. Not in the slightest!

It all started with Mia coming home from the emergency room on the fifth day of her stay – her crazy cab driver crashed the car and as she was waiting for the police, the guy had the audacity to bite her. She required seven stitches. Crazy bastard! Victoria remembered her friend rambling on and on about how she was going to sue the man. They ate and enjoyed a few glasses of wine as the children slept. Later that night she woke up to Ben shoving his wife off the crib of their two year old son.

Victoria had thought she was having a particularly bad nightmare. She thought that when Mia's teeth sank in Ben's forearmed and ripped the skin off, his scream waking both children and perhaps the neighbors too. She continued to whisper 'wake up' to herself as Ben pulled his police issued gun and shot his love in the leg when she was heading toward the baby again. Mia hadn't even noticed. She had to close her eyes and wish really hard to be in her bed in Tokyo when she opened them, as Mia's body hit the floor, blood spraying the wall behind her. She hoped and hoped it was all in her head as Ben ordered everyone to pack lightly and go to the family's minivan. She tried pinching herself, but she never really understood how that worked. Even in dreams, wasn't pain faked by the stupid brain? It could all still have been a nightmare, pain or no pain; she had been probably sleeping for less than fifteen minutes. She had been sure she was almost waking up when Ben stopped the car and told her she had to take care of Emma and Thomas, placing the boy in her hands. He was so small and fragile; his innocent eyes sent shivers down her spine.

She had been in denial up until a hand pulled her and Emma back from Ben's creepy awakened corpse and pulled a bullet in his head. She broke down in that moment, finally catching up with reality. She was sure if Shane didn't order her to get back to the car and follow his own she would've just stood there, crying with the children.

Victoria rested her head on the steering wheel. Actually, she'd be dead, because there was no way she could have gotten away from Ben's snappy teeth.

So where had she screwed herself over? When she dubbed Mia's fever as a common cold? When she ignored the national news that was urging people to stay indoors? When she decided to cross the ocean for her vacation? Did it go further back to some insignificant childhood moment, like when her parents brought her the very first console? Or when she picked up her first comic book? She took her glasses off to dry the tears away from her eyes. Scanning her surroundings with a clearer mind – and vision – she had to restrain a laugh. Oh, the irony.

Hadn't she always wished for an adventure? Excitement? Magic? Well, there it was! The perfect apocalyptic setting, the first chapter of her very own epic quest. It was, plot wise, 'perfect': a mixed group of strangers stuck on a highway, all facing the constant danger of being eaten alive by the walking dead. There were families and singles, all types of skin color and ages, and if you dug deep enough they all probably had different religious beliefs. If she tried a little, Victoria could even label them as: 'first to get bitten', 'high chances of eating you in the near future', 'gets killed for being too naïve', 'highest chance to turn into a criminal', 'loner that survives', 'I want brainz'. She wondered what her label would be and settled to 'would be dead without protective male figure'. Gaze drifting towards Shane's car the words 'damsel in distress' appeared above Lori's head. Victoria sighed, her grip on the wheel tightening. None of this was happening to her, it was surely someone else's story.

Could someone stop the freaking crying baby? The screeching was making her head hurt even worse. As if on cue, someone tapped her window.

"Mind takin' care of that noise, darling?" Oh, right! The baby was her responsibility now. She searched for a pacifier from the baby's bag in the trunk and vaguely registered the wolf whistle as she bent to retrieve it. Opening the door, she noticed Emma's angry stare. She looked blankly at her for a second, then picked Thomas up from the special baby seat. Damn, he was heavy for such a small package! As she rocked him slowly, pacifier in his mouth, the crying stopped.

It was surreal.

Everything! The baby, the highway, the redneck grinning at her as he dragged from a cigar, the disapproving looks people were giving her, probably because she wasn't taking good care of the damn baby.

"How old are you, sugar tits? Lookin' too young to be mother to that one." He was pointing at Emma, smirking when the girl's glare became even more threatening.

"I'm ac-" Her words were interrupted. She didn't see the actual thing, her back being towards the city. A loud crash-like noise filled her ears and she crouched behind the open car door, child cradled at her chest. A blinding light filled the night sky when she opened her eyes. Why had she closed them? An explosion later, Atlanta was in flames, their hope of being evacuated burning with it.

How hadn't she seen this coming? It was classic plot twist: rescue wasn't coming, they were on their own.

"Ria." Small hands clutched to her Spiderman t-shirt. She stared at the miniature human she was holding, and for the hundredth time that day she begged whatever god there was to make the past 20 or so hours just a nightmare. "I want mommy." His eyes were puffy, his cheeks red and tear-stained. He'd been crying for a while. Had he ever stopped since they left for Atlanta?

"Mommy can't be with us right now. It's you, me and your sister." His eyes were watering again, face scrunching. "No, no, don't cry. You have to be brave. Make mommy proud when she comes, yes?" She rocked him slowly, unsure if he was getting what she was saying. He seemed a bright child from what Victoria noticed the past days, but 'the world is ending' and 'your mother turned into a zombie and wanted to eat your face' sounded a little too complex. She had trouble making any sense of it herself.

Shane barked some more orders, directing the people that wanted to follow away from the road. He came back to check on them and told her to stay close. Placing Thomas back in his seat, she drove after Shane's car. It was silent for a moment, before Emma addressed her.

"We're going to die, aren't we, aunt V.?"

"Pfft, nonsense."

"Mom and dad are. We would've been if that guy hadn't shot dad." She wasn't screaming, but the girl's voice was harsh and calculate; she thought about it long and hard. "We're just prolonging the inevitable." What could Victoria say to that? The truth, that she had not the slightest clue? She was supposed to be the adult with all the answers. Lie, that they were going to be just fine? Emma was already in a dark place. Agreeing about their certain doom didn't seem like a good option. Let the silence speak for itself? That was the same as confirming their impending deaths. Say something silly? We have a winner!

"Think of it as a video game, Ems. The longer you stay alive, the more experience and skills you gain, thus the harder you are to kill."

"I don't like this game."

"Still, play along with me, will you? Who knows, we might even win."

* * *

 **So... [ you can read or not... they're just some stuff i wanted to tell you guys to expect in this story ]**

1\. I initially wanted to start this at season 2-3... But I really wanted her to meet Merle and maybe befriend him... for some reason. Not in this chapter necessarily, but in the story as a whole. I could've made her a part of the Governor's town, but meh, decided to go with season 1. As a heads up, I'll go faster with the first season and maybe the second, too. Like, work through them in a few chapters.

2\. This is a Daryl x OC. I'mma focus on that, though there will be glimpses of the other characters [ what I'm trying to say is, I won't ponder much on things you guys had already seen happening on the show: like Lori's... dilemmas, or Shane's obsession with her, or Rick's... denial that his wife was two-faced ho... ] instead, I'll try to sneak in little moments with Daryl and the OC. It's gonna be a little slow burning :))) cause... I want them to become friends first [ I'm kinda bored of all them 'I saw him and knew he was the one for me' stories... ] That being said, my plan is to allow them both to... develop as characters [ cause this is a very serious fanfic I'm writing here... :))) ]

Also... in case it wasn't clear, it's gonna be **M+!** *he he...*

3\. The kids died in this chapter the first time this story sprung in my head. Obviously, I decided otherwise. Should I keep them? I thought it'd be cute for Thomas and Judith to be partners in crime.

4\. Pleas let me know what you think so far. *hugs*


	2. Chapter 2

They set camp a few miles outside Atlanta. The first night was horrible. With Emma taking the whole back seat and Thomas on the passenger seat, Victoria was left cramped on the driver's. Sleep didn't come, but she was grateful for it. What kind on nut job slept through the apocalypse? That meant her mind was occupied with lots of silly things; it was a copying mechanism – one that activated on its own when Victoria was having trouble understanding things happening before her own eyes. So what was the first thought that came as she was staring outside in the darkness?

The conclusion that Japan did zombies wrong. But then again, they twisted all monsters to better suit the manga gender. Victoria recalled stumbling on a particular Japanese comic book in which the main character was falling in love with one of the resurrected dead. The girl in question was quite beautiful and was fully aware of herself. That was not the case with what was happening around them. The 'walkers', as more and more people were calling the awakened dead, had very little in common with the lovable corpse Victoria had fun reading about.

But her train of thoughts didn't stop there, no. Somehow the real-life-zombies were very different from the ones in fiction. Unlike the imaginary counterpart, the real deal was slow, lacked any kind of mental process and, the most disappointing fact, didn't crave the brains of the living. Well, they would eat it, but they didn't have a special desire for the brain only, nor did they mumble the word as they approached you. _Disappointing!_ You'd think the apocalypse would be done right.

But from all the names Victoria heard the group call the dead - roamers, lurkers, biters – walkers seemed to suit them best. She was going to keep using it, 'cause zombies didn't do them justice.

As the first rays of sunlight hit her face, a wave of shame filled her. There she was, in a minivan with the newly orphaned children of her best friend, and she was thinking about how the walkers were not like the ones in the video games she used to play. It was not that she didn't care; she just couldn't deal with it in that moment. She'd have time later, when the world would be back to normal and she wouldn't have to avoid being killed be the dead.

There were not many things that riled her up; she was a rather dispassionate person. And this was definitely not the best time to lose her cool and start despairing. The government and the military would resolve everything and the survivors would remember the past few days as another dark time in history. Victoria had to keep the two children alive long enough for that to happen, then she would mourn. But still, she felt awful. Like she was supposed to be still crying, though she'd done just that since Ben dragged them out of the apartment. Not only for the deaths she witnessed, but also for the fates of the people she couldn't reach.

She dialed the number to her parents' house one more time. The 'disconnected' announcement played again. Something was happening back home, too. How fast was the thing spreading? And how far? For some reason she imagined it happening only in America, if not only there in Georgia. Apparently she was wrong.

Was her cat doing fine? She almost chuckled. The giant feline could probably take down a walker of two, especially since she hated strangers. The thought was purely to calm herself, not wanting to think about the alternative…

People were gathering outside. She let out a breath and joined them, combing her bangs with her fingers, more out of habit than anything else.

"Listen up, everybody! The army might return, so the best option is to stay close. We should check the radio for any new information about the evac or other instructions." Shane dragged his hands over his hair and continued. "But we'll need supplies."

"So, we have to go in the city?" A black woman started as soon as Shane finished his words.

"Yes, just to scout out the area and gather some things. We have water from the river. But food, weapons, medicine, those we'll need." Victoria found herself speaking without really thinking about it.

"We shouldn't all go. Maybe just a small group in and out?" All eyes turned on her like she was crazy.

"Wouldn't it be safer if more people went? Safety in numbers and all?" A blond woman countered her, hands folded, looking already annoyed, though Victoria didn't know if her anger was towards her idea or the whole world going to shit.

"And drag the children with us? Or leave them defenseless over here?"

"No, she right. Fewer people are better. Actually, I can go. Alone." The Asian guy looked abut Victoria's age. He had guts, though he didn't really look it. Shane dismissed him without a second thought.

"No way am I letting you go alone! You have no idea what you're facing over there."

"I know the streets. I'll be back in no time."

"With what? How much can you carry? Two cans of food and a pack of mints?"

"Give the guy a break, will you? I don't see anyone else volunteering to go with him anyway." The tension rose as Victoria said those last words, no one really wanting to explore the bombed city. A man caring a crossbow seemed like he wanted to but in, but the guy who was asking about her age on the highway stopped him with a hand on his shoulder and a hake of the head. Everyone else was looking at Shane for an answer.

Victoria was not angry, but the whole situation was becoming irritating. Shane was already assuming the role of the group's leader and she didn't know how she felt about that. It kind of made sense, since the badge at his belt said he was a cop of some sort, but shouldn't they get a vote? Shane shook his head again and explained it to the Asian one more time, index finger stretched, as if the guy had a problem understanding the words. Douche!

"It's too risky going alone." For the second time that day Victoria's mouth spoke before consulting with the brain.

"Fine! I'll go with him." She pursued her lips, the words sinking in. "Only one small favor… Someone look after the kids until I get back?" Right, the children… she had a responsibility. Why was it so hard to remember about them?

"I'll take care of them. Our daughters will get along just fine, I'm sure." An older woman spoke, her small smile reassuring Victoria a little.

"She's not … Uh, thank you." She smiled back deciding it was not the moment to explain how she came to be the guardian of two children.

"Cool. I'm Glenn, by the way."

"Victoria."

"Meet me here in 10 minutes. I'll go grab my bag. You should get one too."

"Okay, I think I have one in the trunk."

She strolled over to the minivan. Emma was awake, probably startled by all the noise outside. She must have heard the whole conversation because she was staring daggers at Victoria. Opening the trunk, she unloaded her backpack, dumping everything randomly, then sat on the backseat with the girl. The young blonde spoke before she got the chance.

"You're leaving us."

"Just for a short while. I'll be back before you know it."

"You can't be sure of that. You've seen-"

"Now, now. You agreed to go along with me. So, I'm going to go play scavenger in the ruins of Atlanta. You'll take your brother and go with the nice lady. You want me to bring you anything?"

"No. Some chocolate would be great. Lots of it actually." Victoria rubbed her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Oh, take Thomas' bag out of the trunk too. I think he needs… to be changed or something?" Emma just nodded, already out of the car and rummaging through the car. Victoria didn't get to make five steps away from the vehicle when a voice stopped here.

"Hi there, sweetheart. You think you can hook ol' Merle with a lil' something?"

"Huh? Merle?" The word made her tongue twist a little, but it had a nice ring to it. ' _Merle'_. As a polyglot, she had an odd fascination with some words. The way they sounded or they were spelled sometimes appealed to her.

"Merle Dixon, at your service, sugar. And that there's my lil' brother, Daryl." He pointed back at the man standing a little ways back, by a truck. He was checking on some arrows, unaware of her and his brother's stares. ' _Daryl'_. That had a nice ring to it too. "Think ya can watch out for some candy?"

"Candy?"

"You know, some happy dust." Victoria kept looking at him like he was insane. Happy dust? What? "Sweet stuff? Kryptonite?" She coked her head to the side and pushed her glasses up.

"Like… Superman's only weakness?" Merle chucked and continued with seemingly random names. He was apparently enjoying the sight of Victoria struggling to make sense of what he was asking her to look for. Comic Con supplies? He didn't look the type to cosplay.

"Some snow. White powder." Oh, he meant drugs! Victoria was never a fan of them. Like any rebellious teenager, she took a drag once or twice out of a friend's joint in college. But, as most of her Friday nights – and every other night, really – were spent with her geek squad in online games, drugs were never a thing for them. Imagine doing dungeon while tripping.

"I'll see what I can do. But really, I can't distinguish corn flour from that stuff, so I'm not promising anything."

"Atta girl. Whatever ya find is welcomed." She nodded and left him grinning like a madman. She was not going to scour the city for drugs, but there was no point in making enemies. Plus, the Dixons seemed like they knew how to survive in hard times, best be friends with the strong and muscle-y when the apocalypse strikes. She also dreamt of riding that bike on the back of their truck.

She met with Glenn and Shane gave them the keys of a car as well as a gun that was handed to Glenn. She was a little offended by the misogynous act, but she didn't particularly care to carry the thing as she never even held one before. She didn't want to be that stupid character that accidentally killed herself, tough Glenn didn't looked like he was more experienced in the department.

Victoria took the driver's seat and pulled the car out of camp. It was silent for two minutes until the boy started chatting. She didn't mind. She listened to him talk and shared some of her stories, too. She found out he was originally from Michigan, born of Korean immigrants, he had sisters and, like herself, he also had no idea what happened to his family. They swapped some game tales, as they both used to play some of the same MMO's but on different servers. If the dead hadn't seized the day, the two of them still had chances of meeting one another online. It was a funny thought to entertain. When he said he was a delivery boy she couldn't suppress a laugh.

"That's why you volunteered? Cause you know all the backstreets and shortcuts?"

"Yeah. I thought I'd be the best option. In and out, like you said."

"You got courage, Glenn."

"The same can be said about you."

"Nah, I'm just impulsive; I spoke without thinking. I'm terrified of what we might find out there." It was true, though she was also a bit excited. _An adventure!_ He scoffed and pulled on his cap.

"You think I'm not? I'm shaking like a leaf." She smiled and pulled the car to a stop. The road up ahead was not completely blocked but cars were flanking the way. She could squeeze trough, but there was no way of knowing what was up ahead.

"Go on foot from here?"

"Yeah, better this way." She couldn't help but smile. She liked it that Glenn was on the same page as her. It gave a sense of comfort, like he'd have her back and she'll have his if the group ever came to a stalemate. "Make sure you stay away from the cars, though. I saw this walker grab a woman's leg from underneath one."

"Oh, thanks for the heads up." She scurried a little further away from the vehicles and followed his lead. A few minutes later they were in the borders of the city. They stood low, and crept trough the smaller streets and alleys. Glenn pointed toward a market and the pair made their way inside. All looked good so far. The outskirts of the city were untouched by whatever the bomb from the previous night was. The explosion sounded awful, but there, the city just looked abandoned. No living and thankfully no dead.

Inside, they started pulling in food first. Everything canned first, then some meat: ham, bacon. Some toast made its way in her bag, too. Not forgetting about the _candy_ , the chocolate kind, she grabbed a few sweats as well. They could come back for more later.

"I'm going to look for some baby supplies."

"Be careful."

"Doesn't seem there's anyone here, though." As if on cue, a hand sprouted trough the remaining chocolate on the self and grabbed her hair. Panic was an understatement; she was just happy she didn't completely freeze. Instead, she grabbed the base of her ponytail and pulled back, all the while screaming like the big baby she was."

"Glenn! Oh my god, Glenn!" He was fast. The words barely escaped her and he was hitting the gruesome hand with a big can of pineapple. Her ebony hair slipped through the creature's fingers and Victoria noticed it was missing his pinky. She shivered and made a mental note to wash her hair as soon as they reached camp. The walker plunged his other hand tough the shelf in a poor attempt to reach them. Retarded creature…

"You alright?" Glenn turned her to face him, checking her hands and shoulders for any scratches and bites."

"Yeah, thanks. It only managed to rip some of my hair off." She massaged her scalp. For something so stupid, it sure had a death grip…

"What do we do with handsome over here?" It was nice that Glenn still had a sense of humor. The walker was… grotesque to say the least. Years of watching horror movies made Victoria a little less affected, but not invulnerable. Her stomach made a back flip as she examined the flailed parts of the creature's face, one eye dangling on the side of its face and a clear view of its snapping jaw trough the hole in its cheek.

"Should we… kill it?"

"Gun?"

" We'll give up our location…" The thing kept barking its teeth at them, occasionally throwing more sweets off the shelf. Looking around, Victoria found nothing long enough to poke it with.

"Should we just lock it inside?"

"I don't know… we might want to come back and it won't be standing in such a convenient position… Or someone else might not be as lucky as me and get bit by it."

"I think I saw some kitchen supplies on in the other aisle. Maybe they have some knives."

"Umm, I'll try and keep it here, you go find something to kill it with."

"You want me to kill it?"

"Umm, yes?" They stared in disbelief at one another for a couple of seconds. "I'd do it, but I don't think I have the strength to plunge anything trough its skull…" He sighed in defeat and went to go around the corner.

"Just don't get me killed." Easier said than done. As soon as Glenn walked away the walker went to follow suit. In a moment of sheer panic, she slapped the thing's wrist to get its attention.

"Hey! Eyes on me." It seemed to react to either the slap or her voice. So she kept talking to it in a raised voice, but not quite shouting. No sense in alarming the 'neighbors'. "You want a little piece of me, don't you? Come on! What's the problem? You're too stupid to realize you can go around the shelf? Yes you are." She felt like she was talking to a dog.

She saw Glenn strolling over to the walker's aisle and she nodded at him to go on. She kept talking to it, even walking a little closer to tempt it. A sound came from the other side, like glass shattering, and the walker snapped its head around. Oops. It must have spotted Glenn. Victoria grabbed the retreating hands of the walker, resisting the crawling feeling on her skin, and pulled feeling on her skin, and pulled it towards herself.

"Now, Glenn! Stab it fast!" One squishy sound later, the hands stopped moving. She released it and wiped her hands on her black jeans. No wounds! Perfect.

"Woo! I got one!" She chuckled. It was settled, she liked Glenn. So far he was the nicest person in their little group, granted she hadn't interacted with many people there.

" Glenn 1 – Walker 0. Good job!"

"Thanks to you. Thanks for keeping that thing still."

"Don't mention it. I still need you to get me out of the city." He scoffed saying she could've found her way back and they went back to ransacking the small market. Victoria went to check the registry, evidently not for the money. Checking the cigar slots she found it was emptied.

"Really? End of the world and some people still only think about their tobacco…"

"You're checking it, too."

"Yeah, but not for myself… I thought it'd be nice for the smokers of the group." Mainly Merle, because she felt bad not bringing him something, since she basically lied about looking for drugs. She did find a box of condoms fallen under the cashier's chair. She threw it at Glenn.

"Catch!" The boy did as told, turning the box in his hand to have a look at it. Victoria's smile went from ear to ear as his face reddened.

"Wh-What's this for?" She raised an eyebrow, restraining herself to laugh at his reaction too much.  
"Surely you've used-"

"That's not what I meant and you know it! There are more important things than this." He lifted the box as to make a point. Victoria just coked her head and folded her arms in front of her.

"It's the last box. Thought we should stock some, you know. If you don't want it I'll take it."

"That's… not necessary. I can hold on to it just fine." He tried to hold a straight face as he pocketed the box, but his cheeks were burning red. She giggled a little as she passed him to grab some gums. She had her own vices and chewing super minty gum was one of them. Rummaging through the different gum types, she spotted a cigar pack under the gum rack.

"Finders keepers." She placed it in the pocket of her hoodie, so it wouldn't mix with the other things. She was not a smoker, so she had no idea what kind of cigars they were. But anything's better than nothing, right? She was about to suggest they went to check other stores when she remembered she was going to look for some baby products when the walker jumped her trough the shelves. She was really a bad guardian, forgetting about them like that; she'll have to work on that…

She picked some dippers though she thought she saw some in the trunk. Babies used a lot of those things, no? She was at a loss at the other products and reading what they were and what they did seemed to be taking forever. So she picked a pack of almost everything she saw: milk powder, wet tissues, some lotion thingy that was probably the last of her priorities. She returned to Glenn who was stuffing knives in his backpack.

"You ready to head out?"

"After you." She bowed her head and extended her hand toward the door with a playful reverence. Glenn chucked and went first, shaking his head. They hit one more, smaller, store and a pharmacy that was half empty. They filed two shopping bags with more food. As they were making their way towards Victoria spotted something.

"Hey, look. Is that a outdoors shop?"

"Oh, yeah. We could get tents and other things."

They went to the car to leave their supplies and doubled back to the store. The door was ajar, windows broken. Chances were it was stripped clean. Victoria had a sudden sense of dread. Things went south what? One day ago? The news on TV claimed the situation was worse in the big cities, but how bad could have it been since they were still told the masses to head there to be evacuated?

They bombed said city, so probably pretty damn bad…

Glenn pushed the door open with one leg at it hit the wall with a thud. They waited for a few seconds, silent to hear if any noise came from inside. Nothing. The place was clearly ransacked, almost nothing still on the shelves, though quite a few items on the floor. Whoever was there before them was looking for specific things. Still they salvaged five tents of different shapes and sizes, a box of hunting knives and two fishing rods. Maybe there were fish in the river they were camped near, who knew? Victoria's face lit up when she notice Glenn picking up a bow.

"Oh great, do you see any arrows?" She closed the distance between them in two long strides and took the bow from him. She instantly felt a thousand times better; she could kill them walking corpses from afar now. If she managed to hit them in the head…

"Do you know how to use that thing?"

"Took archery classes back in Japan. I'm not the best at it, but I think this can come in handy."

"Yeah, it's silent for starters." He picked up a quiver that had a few arrows left and Victoria had to suppress a squeal of delight. They found a few more packs with arrows and around ten sleeping bags in the very back of the shop. With their hands full, they made a jog for the car. They'd been gone for a while and people might get worried. The drive back was fun; they cracked jokes of how they were the best scavengers out there, even if both knew they didn't really do much. Luck was on their side as they only had to deal with one walker.

When Victoria parked the car next to the RV people were already starting to circle them, curious of what they found in the city and what they brought back. Glenn started boasting about their heroism as they took down the shelf-walker, while unpacking the food from the back seat. She went to the trunk and took out the things from the outdoors shop, laying them down next to the food.

"We didn't go far, just reached the outline of the city." She butted in over Glenn's speech earning a half-meant glare.

"Did you see anyone?"

"No, just the one walker. Place was deserted."

"We'll head further into the city later." Glenn added, his hands still taking out stuff from his bag.

"Later?" She almost cried. She knew they'd have to back for more food soon, but she hoped they'd be evacuated to some safe hold soon.

"Yeah, I thought we could head on the roof of a building or something. Get a better view."

"Oh, that's actually pretty smart. Why didn't we do that today?"

"Well, the priority was to bring some supplies back here… If anything happened to us while-"

"Pfft, nothing would've happened to us. We're the best, remember?" She punched him in the shoulder in a friendly manner. She always wanted a brother and whenever she imagined having one, he was a little bit like Glenn. He smiled and grinned, pushing his cap back.

The supplies were distributed and most of them were stashed in the RV for the time being, as per Shane's instructions. Victoria wanted to give the kids the sweets but Lori stopped her, saying they should eat first. She had to resist rolling her eyes; one day of eating unhealthy killed no one. Did it? She snatched a chocolate for Emma anyway adding a pack of gum for herself; the girl needed a little pick-me-up after the day she had, though, perhaps chocolate wasn't exactly what she needed. Victoria couldn't give her Mia and Ben back, though she'd give anything to do it.

After that, some of the women took the job of preparing a meal. It struck Victoria that they had nothing to cook in, but apparently the RV was well supplied in crockery. Shane offered her and Glenn tents – the smallest ones - and she almost declined, not willing to sleep protected only by a piece of cloth, but saw that in their absence, a watch had been established. A black man was sitting on the top of the RV, scanning the area left and right. She took the tent along with a sleeping bag, thinking she'd give it a try. With her bag now empty, she went back to the trunk and filled it with the arrows, finally swinging the bow over her shoulder and making her way to the minivan. She found Emma rummaging in the glove compartment.

"Not gonna welcome me, Ems? I came back in one piece."

"No."

"What are you looking for?"

"None of your business, you're not my mother." Victoria sighed. For how long did she have to look after the brat? She mentally scolded herself. Emma had just lost both her parents and by the look on her face she'd been crying while she was gone. But Victoria had never been good with words. She cared, she really did. If she took a second to analyze the events of the past day, she'd be a sobbing mess, but years of brushing off emotional mumbo-jumbo made her insensitive at times. If she could push her feelings away why couldn't everyone? It was so much easier than actually dealing with them, and at some point, they even went away.

"Got you some chocolate…" That made the blonde girl lift her head to give Victoria a quick scan. Her blue eyes landed on her bow.

"Can you even use that thing?"

"If you really care to know, I took classes. Three years actually." And she was damn proud, even if she skipped the last few months. Or was it half a year already? Damn! She hoped it was like riding a bike.

"Hm."

"Where's your brother?" She placed the bow and arrows down and started unpacking the tent.

"Carol was telling a story for all the kids. He should still be with her."

"Carol?" Damn, the tent was big!

"Yeah, you know, the 'nice lady' you left me with. Her name's Carol."

"Oh, nice to know." She could drown in all the tent fabric. And where the hell did those sticks go and why didn't they stay straight? Should she build the frame first from the metal rods? Or… what? She was briefly reminded why she hated the outdoors.

"Need a hand, sugar?" The southern drawl was strong with this one. She turned to see Merle's amused mug inspecting her failure.

"Yes, please." While she enjoyed building things on her own, like IKEA drawers, she recognized when she needed help. There was no need to act all proud and almighty; the tent clearly beat her. He took a step closer, but before he could start Victoria pulled the cigar pack out of her hoodie and tossed it to him. "I know it's not what you asked for, but it's all found. I'll keep looking in the future." He grinned at her and for a second she felt like she was on the outside of a joke, like she didn't have some crucial knowledge about something. She pushed it away as he thanked her.

"Thanks." He fished a lighter from a pocket and, after lighting one, he started sorting her tent, ordering her to hold a part up or fetch him one of the sticks. "Ya never went campin'?"

"Nope. I'm not a big fan of nature."

"Big city gal like ya, didn't really expect otherwise." She didn't correct him; she grew up in quite the small, non-descript town. But it reminded her of her family, so, like with all the things that made her sad, she avoided the subject. A few minutes later, the tent was standing tall and proud. Well, not so tall, but still pretty damn proud.

"Thank you, Merle. You're a life saver." Laugh rolled out of him in waves.

"Don't think I've ever been called that."

"Yo, Merle! Get your ass here." His brother shouted from their truck and she noticed they already had two similar small tents set up. She wondered if they already had them packed in the car or if they foresaw they'd need them.

"Gotta go, sweet thang." She thought of asking him to stop calling her names, but decided not to at the last second, giving just a nod instead. It didn't particularly bother her, but she didn't exactly like it either. But it could wait a little longer, until she assessed everyone better and decide who she wanted to make friends with and who to be nice to just for convenience. _A friend is a gift you make give yourself_ , or something like that.

Entering the tent, she rolled open the sleeping bag and sat on the top of it. It wasn't so bad, but she doubted sleep would find her in there. She wasn't prissy… Oh, hell, who was she lying to? It was her first time in a tent and she squirmed at the very thought of insects crawling all over her skin. She'd rather face some dead guys trying to eat her face of, rather than _fight_ a spider. She'd rather starve than eat weird shit like worms, though she was probably saying that because she never actually went more than a day without _proper_ food. She was, by all means, a spoiled little bitch. She had the designer clothes to prove it! But she could be worse, right? She could be one of those dumb bimbos who were complaining about broken nails. Victoria herself liked her nails long and neatly painted, but it wasn't a tragedy when one snapped.

Emma called for her, bringing Victoria out of her thoughts, and they joined the group around the small fire. When had the sun set? She was in the tent for like two minutes. Carol brought Thomas and the rest of the children and the boy made his way to Victoria, almost stumbling on his own feet a few times. She smiled as she picked him up, but couldn't stop the questions from popping in her head.

 _How long until the authorities put an end to this mess? How long until she was back to her life in Japan?_

* * *

 **A/N:** So, hope there aren't any spelling mistakes. I tend to read the words right even if they're not spelled so.

Thoughts? Let me know what you think so far.

Oh, as a random fact, originally, when I wanted to start the story with season 3, the dad lived longer, but still died before he could meet the group.


	3. Chapter 3

"You know how to use that thing?"

She growled. An actual growl! It must have been the hundredth time she heard the question that day; from the curious children, the worried Carol, surprised Dale and unconvinced Shane, every single person in camp eyed her bow with interest. Even Merle cracked a joke about her accidentally hitting his hear with an arrow while Lori interrupted Victoria's 'bath' in the river to lecture her about leaving sharp objects where children could get them. But when she turned and met Daryl's eyes she saw something else. He seemed half bored to death, so curiosity was not the case with him. He was after something.

"Yes?" She asked tentatively, unsure of his motives. Not having yet the occasion to try out the bow, she didn't want to give anyone, especially herself, false hope. She's been good in classes, but it was for fun back then and the instructor always helped when she was doing something wrong. She knew Daryl had a crossbow, and knew he was god with it - a dozen dead squirrels attesting to that at their last dinner. And while the two weapons were different, the thought of asking him to show her a thing or two, if she didn't get the hang of it, might have crossed her mind.

"Any good at trackin'?"

"Uhh, I'd get lost in the forest if that's what you're asking."

"Tsk."

"But I'm a fast learner." She added quickly. She wasn't sure if he was asking her to go hunt for food in his place or asking her to join him, but no way in hell would she venture alone in the forest. Even without the whole killer corpses roaming around, she was never an outdoors kind of gal. Naturally, never spending more than a two hour picnic in the 'wild', she had no idea how to make her way around a bunch of _almost_ identical trees. She registered it as a good skill to know those days, so she seized the opportunity to learn it.

"Nah, Merle and I can handle the huntin'."

"Please. Pretty please? I'll be quiet and follow every instruction." He considered it for a moment, eyes darting from the woman to the minivan behind her. Thomas's gurgling and random words could be heard from it, probably trying to get his sister's attention. When his eyes narrowed in what seemed like annoyance she was sure he was going to turn her down.

"Fine. We leave at first light."

"Thank you, Daryl." Her smile must have split her face in two, but she couldn't care less. She was excited, she liked learning new things and tracking was such a bad ass skill to add to her 'resume'.

"Stop grinning like a love struck schoolgirl."

"What?"

"You look stupid."

"Why, thank you. What a lovely thing to say."

"Whatever. Tommy's finally asleep, good job with that."

"That's not fair…"

"The world ended, nothing is fair anymore. Goodnight, aunt V." The girl shut the door to the car as silently as possible, thought Victoria guessed she wanted nothing more than to slam it shut.

Victoria could do nothing more than shake her head and enter the freaking tent. She hated it with a burning passion. The previous night had been a nightmare and she suspected this one was not going to be any different. She always had trouble sleeping in unfamiliar places, but outdoors was a whole new level of fucked up. How could people sleep in there? Not mentioning the hard ground and constant chill, the notion that she was supposed to go unconscious while protected by nothing more than a piece of neatly arranged cloth baffled her. Even without the walkers, any animal, snake, insect, could find its way inside and you'd never even know what hit you. It was insane!

With no chances of falling asleep, her mind was left to wonder. No pretty thoughts visited her that night. Images of her friend and her husband filled her already tired brain. The gravity of the situation was looming over her head, but she tried to push it away. She had to! Otherwise she wasn't sure she could face the world in the morning.

Silent tears started streaming down the sides of her face. Victoria knew she was not qualified to raise the two children. She didn't plan to. All she had to do was keep them alive long enough to deliver them to remaining family members. They had two real aunts and a bunch of grandparents. Some of them were bound to be still alive and willing to take them in. It didn't stop her from thinking she should be dead and Mia should be there with her children. Even if Victoria could manage to take them to their family, they'd still be orphans. Grandparents or not.

There was also this nagging thought that things were not going to get better, they were only going to get worse. Though they only saw two more walkers, deep in the forest, no one came for the survivors. The radio plaid the same message on a loop: go to Atlanta for evacuation. She and Glenn were going back there in a day or two to see if there were any military left in the city. If they were evacuating the living, thing were going to be fine. If not, she didn't know. The uncertainty of everything cared her the most. She wanted to hope, but in the same time she didn't want to get her hopes up only to have them crushed later.

She was horrified of the concept of having to take care of the children. More than facing the dead. She loved them, but she was not out for this shit. She planned on having some of her own, but later in life, after she saw the world and had fun and lived life to its fullest. More so, if anything happened to the two because of her foolishness, she'd never forgive herself. Their faces would haunt her from beyond the grave and probably in the afterlife too.

It was a selfish thought, really. But she was a selfish woman. She was an only child, she hated sharing anything from food to her spot on the couch. She even dreaded her friends having other friends, but realized that was not entirely normal. She was possessive and childish and in no way able to be responsible for children, especially two year olds. She didn't even know what to do with Tommy when she held him.

When the first rays of sunlight crept through the gaps in the tents 'door', she cursed. She succeeded in not sleeping for the second night in a row. And while she napped during the day, the two hour shut eye hadn't really hit the spot. She changed her t-shirt, opting for a plain black one and put her boots back on. When she emerged from her tent, bow and arrows on her shoulder, Daryl was approaching with calculated steps.

"Ya ready?"

"Good morning to you, too." He frowned at her and she mentally slapped herself. Making him change his mind before they even departed was not a good plan. "I'm… ready." He inspected her, blue eyes still narrowed and seemingly annoyed, but nodded and turned towards the tree line. Passing Merle's tent, his groggy voice broke the morning silence.

"You lovebirds have fun." She heard Daryl growl something under his breath while she let out a breath. How did he stand Merle's company 24/7? Victoria liked Merle, but in small doses. His younger brother had to put up with him all the time. Lost in thought she hadn't noticed the man before her stop and collided with his back. He turned to her and a chill ran down her spine. He was right to be angry. She promised to be a perfect student and there she was messing things before they even started. She opened her mouth to speak, but a rustling noise beat her to it. A walker had spotted them and was lethargically coming for them. She was almost scared.

"Let's see if you can hit it with that lil'bow." He pointed to the walking corpse and folded his arms. She gulped. This was it. If she didn't hit the mark, he wasn't going to show her anything, probably sent her ass back to camp. She couldn't have any of that.

Victoria placed the first arrow and fired it without thinking much about the mechanics. It missed its head by a mere inch, but missed it nevertheless. She took a long breath and fired again, this time missing completely. The third arrow stuck into its neck. The next one met the creature's forehead, rendering it motionless on the ground. But it wasn't one hers.

Daryl lowered his now empty crossbow and went to retrieve the arrows. She sighed. It was definitely not like riding a bike. It didn't help that the target was moving and swaying like a leaf in the wind.

"I'm sorry…"

"Ya ain't concentratin'."

"Sorry… I'm a bit tired. Can't seem to fall asleep in that stupid tent." She knew he didn't give a rat's ass about her excuses. He looked like a man who wanted to see the results, not empty words.

"You gotta put your shit together if you wanna survive this."

"I know. I just…" She shook her head before she could apologies again. He handed her the arrows she fired and she sighed again. "Thanks. I'll leave you to it."

"Where ya think you're going?"

"Um, I just assumed…"

"You assumed wrong. Now get back here and listen closely." If she weren't so sleepy, she would've made a little happy dance. He was giving her a chance despite her obvious lack of skill. She wished they could try again tomorrow instead of right then, but she took whatever life gave her. Willing herself to focus on his words, her eyes followed his outstretched finger.

"See that hoof print over there?" At first all she could see was dirt and fallen leaves. Some trampled grass and- Oh, yeah, it sort of looked like a print. She nodded and he continued to explain different things, like the direction the prints were facing, the depth they left on the ground and the effect the passing animal had on the upper foliage: fallen green leaves and broken lower branches. It was fascinating, really was. And she thought she understood what he was saying. But if she laid her head down for a second she was certain she could fall asleep. For a couple of minutes until the nightmares woke her.

Still, she tried her best. Following in his footstep was challenging as she kept spacing out and missing the exact spot. But he didn't complain. Much. He grumbled under his breath and shook his head. Even told her a couple more times to concentrate. He didn't let her fire any more arrows, taking the task of catching the squirrels and rabbits they crossed alone.

"You keep practicin'."

"Yeah, I will."

"Ya ain't half bad."

"I missed every time."

"Nah, thought you'd to hold the bow wrong, so did better than expected." Victoria couldn't help but chuckle at that. There was a ghost of a smile on his face, but it left so fast it could have been her tired eyes playing tricks. As her laugh died down, she better analyzed the information.

"You offered to teach me anyway. Why?"

"Gotta have another hunter around."

"There's you and Merle. I don't think I can compare to you guys." She considered for a moment before asking. "Are you planning to leave or something?"

"Why'd you ask that?"

"I don't know… I guess it seems like you want someone to replace you."

"Maybe I'm done huntin' for you people."

"Oh." Victoria was almost sure that was not the case. Almost. She didn't know the guy and if he was anything like his brother, his intentions were questionable at the least. She guessed they didn't look like the 'murdering you in your sleep' types, but she wouldn't trust them with her life either.

Daryl looked like the proud type, though, so she dubbed his annoyance towards the subject to the fact that he didn't want to admit he needed help hunting. Maybe not help, but a well deserved rest. Everyone was lying around camp while he was out in the woods, hunting dinner. She understood how that sucked and thought most of the camp would, too. There was no need to be so skittish about it.

It was silent from there on. Victoria didn't exactly mind. She loved silence. And it was actually indicated in the current situation: tracking animals though a walker infested forest. But she felt they left things in a weird place. She eyed his back, trying to make sense of the invisible things he was following. Sometimes she saw the signs: a print, a mark in the grass. Other times she was sure he was just going with the flow. But new hoof came up engraved in mud. Daryl looked like he knew what he was doing, like he was born with that crossbow in hand and spent his childhood tracking the family pets. He stepped without a sound; the elves of Middle-earth couldn't hold a candle to him. It was quite a sight actually, the way his muscled would flex when he pulled the spring to replace an arrow, the way he always hit his mark. She couldn't phantom why he needed her to learn something he excelled at, but it made her want to learn even more.

"I'll get the hang of this, okay?"

"Shh." He actually shushed her! She wanted to protest, thinking he dismissed her because he didn't care anymore if she learned to track or not, but rustling was heard from up ahead. He signaled her with a jerk of his hand to follow quietly in his steps. In her sleep deprived mind, she thought this was the moment in the movie when she'd get herself or him killed. Probably him, since the guy usually takes one for the damsel. So she gave her all to follow him like he taught her. She didn't realize she was holding her breath until she saw it was only the wild boar they were following. She exhaled as slowly as she could, not wanting to do any more mistakes. Mere seconds later Daryl's arrow stayed true to its mark and the animal was dead.

"Got ourselves some bacon tonight." She smiled the man man's chipper attitude, but almost gagged when he cut the thing open.

"Wha-"

"You wanna carry it with or without the extra pounds?" She pursed her lips and considered for a moment. Did she want the animal to drip blood all over the place or carry a heavier pig? Wait? Was he seriously making her carry the boar? It looked like a piglet, but she could barely lift Thomas and he was way smaller than the animal. "Gonna help or what?"

She looked up to Daryl dragging the boar towards camp. She saw the animals insides discarded on the ground and had to swallow hard to steady herself. Hurrying to catch up, she took the hind legs and lifted. It wasn't that bad. She could hold like this for maybe, who knew, another minute or two? She sighed and tightened her grip. Even if she was going to disappoint him with her upper body strength too, at least she would have given her best.

By the time they got close to camp, her hands hurt like hell. But she be damned if she let go. She almost cried out with relief when the trees thinned out and she saw cars. They took the boar to the small table where Daryl skinned his squirrels and dumped it on the ground with a thud. People were gathering around, congratulating and expressing their delight, some women already starting the task of preparing it. But Victoria only heard light ringing in her ears. Her hands trembled lightly and she tried to shake the numbness off.

"Hey." She lifted her eyes to Daryl's and saw something akin to pity in his blue orbs. "You did good out there, kid." His calloused hand patted her on the shoulder before he retreated to his tent. His gesture left her feeling all giddy on the inside. It reminded her of a time in school when her favorite teacher praised her for her outstanding work. She smiled, thinking the whole endeavor wasn't for naught. Maybe she could, some day, become a hunter.

Wait a second! Had he just called her 'kid'? Oh, the nerve on him… If she didn't fear she's fall asleep while talking, she would have given him a piece of her mind. Instead, she entered her tent and crashed on the sleeping bed, still dirty from trekking the whole day though the forest. The sun was setting, but light was still present. She could hear chatter from the group. Victoria fell asleep thinking of how she hadn't been called 'kid' since high school. People called her 'mam' or 'Mrs.' at her work place. And thought she still had a childish demeanor, she was not that young. Daryl was a few years older than her at most. Calling her 'kid' felt like he didn't mean the small praise he'd given her. Like it had been a joke to him.

She had weird dreams that night: of school and her parents scolding her to study more, of her colleagues at the embassy and their last work trip, of her nerdy friends and their apocalypse plans. She thought she heard Glenn's voice calling her to eat at some point, but wasn't sure if it was only in her dream, or it actually happened. Regardless, she slept through the entire night like a log. If the word come to an end and she would have slept right trough it.

* * *

Thank you all who fav/followed/reviewed. You're awesome. ^_^

I have no hunting expertise... so if I ever write anything that is utterly wrong, let me know..

There's gonna be some Daryl moments in every chapter from here on. Let me know if he's OOC or just random... O_o

As a side note, I feel like I'm making Victoria an awful person :))) That's really not my intention...


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